The whistle blows, the ball rolls free,
Players dart across the grassy ground.
Nine-a-side, a smaller team to see,
Every pass and tackle tightly bound.
Players dart across the grassy ground,
Feet fly fast, the chase is on.
Every pass and tackle tightly bound,
A sprint, a dodge, the lead is gone.
Feet fly fast, the chase is on,
The ball arcs high beneath the sun.
A sprint, a dodge, the lead is gone,
The crowd cheers loud for every run.
The ball arcs high beneath the sun,
Nine-a-side, a smaller team to see.
The crowd cheers loud for every run,
The whistle blows, the ball rolls free.
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Author:
Matthew R. Callies (
Offline) - Published: March 20th, 2026 10:32
- Comment from author about the poem: This poem is about nine-a-side footy, a variation of Australian rules football.
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 9
- Users favorite of this poem: Tristan Robert Lange
- In collections: 🔥Trending🔥, Sports Poetry.
Offline)
Comments3
A great poem packed with action verbs full of images all set to sport and fun. Nicely worded
Action! You caught it. Never heard of this game before; where is it played?
You are using a form, not quite a villanelle. Has it a name?
Nine-a-side footy appears to be played mostly in in the UK and other parts of Europe. The form is called a pantoum - a traditional Malay/Indonesian style
Thanks for that. (I'm still keeping an eye on you👍)
Matthew, this is fun and energetic…there’s a real sense of motion here that keeps everything moving from start to finish. It feels like the game never stops. 🌹🖤🙏🕯️🐦⬛
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